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Archives for March 2018

Rahul Gandhi hits out at media for ‘cunning twisting of facts’

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New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday derided the media for allegedly stirring hate against him with their “cunning twisting of facts” and said he was honoured they made their livelihood spinning lies about him.

Gandhi cited a recent sting operation by the portal ‘Cobrapost’, allegedly revealing that 17 media firms were ready to push communal reports for cash without even raising a bill for it.

“I can never hate those who try to stir up hate against me, with fake stories and their cunning twisting of facts. For them it’s just business; hate sold for a price, as the Cobrapost expose shows,” Gandhi said on Twitter.

“I’m blessed and honoured that they make their livelihoods spinning lies about me,” he added sarcastically.

His party said on its Twitter handle that the “mainstream media’s silence on the Cobrapost ‘sting’ is a telling tale on its own credibility”.

(PTI)

Bridgestone India Supports Breast Cancer Patient Treatment

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Bridgestone India Pvt. Ltd, under its flagship initiative of #byherside, Pink Valve Cap Campaign, for supporting Breast Cancer patients, has provided world class latest technology equipment (Fluobeam – ICG Fluoroscopy Imaging Device) to TATA Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, which will be the 1st ever of its kind installation in India and currently available in only few developed countries worldwide. In addition, part of the contribution given will be utilized for the underprivileged breast cancer patient treatment assistance program.

Bridgestone launched the campaign in Oct, 2017, focusing on creating awareness towards the disease as well as highlighting the importance of early detection & treatment. Breast Cancer is considered as one of the leading cause of death amongst women and thus, Bridgestone assumed the responsibility of generating the necessary attention & alertness for the cause.

During the ceremony, Bridgestone India’s Managing Director, Parag Satpute handed over the cheque of the total sum amounting to Rupees Eighty Seven Lacs & Fifty Thousand (INR 87.5 lacs) to Dr. Rajendra Badve, Director of Tata Memorial Hospital.

This contribution is given with the aim to support the less fortunate suffering from breast cancer. The equipment & funds provided for the treatment are likely to support more than 64,000 patients, who visit Tata Memorial Hospital annually, from India as well as abroad. Nearly 60% of these cancer patients who receive curative care at the Hospital are needy and treated free of charges.

Speaking about the contribution Parag Satpute said, “Bridgestone’s global CSR Commitment is ‘Our Way to Serve’ and it is the foundation of Bridgestone India’s every initiative to improve life of the people & communities they move, live, work play in. This contribution is all the more valuable to us, as it blends the contribution from Bridgestone India with the overwhelming support coming from our employees, dealers & customers who supported the cause through the consumption of Pink Valve Caps.

On this occasion, Bridgestone thanks all the team members of Tata Memorial Hospital for exceptional services towards the fight against Cancer and this makes us feel more privileged to have been able to make a humble contribution towards the cause.”

Dr. Rajendra Badve further added, “We are extremely happy to see esteemed organizations such as Bridgestone coming forward to support the cause. Such efforts will not only help the underprivileged patients fighting the disease, but also raise awareness towards the cause. We acknowledge Bridgestone for taking their generous support for the patients suffering from breast cancer.”

Bridgestone India will continue to support the cause through various awareness campaigns for encouraging all women to undergo early age detection procedure. One such initiative was the recent Breast Cancer Screening Camp organized on 8th Mar, 2018 on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Series of such camps will be organized at PHCs (Primary Health Centres) across Khed Taluka, in Pune for the benefit of rural & tribal community.

Bridgestone India Pvt. Ltd started its operations in 1996. In Mar, 1998 with the setup of its manufacturing facility in Kheda, Madhya Pradesh, Bridgestone achieved its objective of running Indian manufactured Bridgestone tyres on Indian Roads. It expanded its facilities by setting up 1 more facility in Chakan, Pune in 2013. In a short stint of more than 2 decades, Bridgestone India Pvt. Ltd has become one of the leading tyre companies in both the OEM & the Replacement market.

Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, is the world’s largest tire & rubber company. In addition to tires for use in a wide variety of applications, it also manufactures a broad range of diversified products, which include industrial rubber & chemical products as well as sporting goods. Its products are sold in over 150 nations & territories around the world.

In the Asia Pacific region, Bridgestone locates its regional headquarters in Singapore, overseeing the operations of tire production & sales facilities, as well as supplying its products across more than 25 countries in the region. Bridgestone Asia Pacific plays a key role in facilitating this large & growing market as it contributes significantly to the entire Bridgestone Group.
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Film Festival Round Up

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Prabhu Dheva’s ‘Mercury’ To Have Its World Premiere In The 16th Annual Indian Film Festival Of Los Angeles

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) has recently announced 2 exciting additional programs and has revealed the distinguished members of its features & shorts juries for the 16thannual festival, which takes place from 11th Apr, 2018 to 15th Apr, 2018 at the Regal L.A. Live: A Barco Innovation Center cinemas in downtown Los Angeles.

IFFLA will also host a Master Class with The Big Bang Theory star Kunal Nayyar to discuss his career beginnings, his path to stardom on US television’s highest rated comedy, and to advise the next generation of artists on how to gain a foothold in a competitive cinema industry.

The master class is presented with support from India Center Foundation and will take place on Thurs 12th Apr, 2018 @ 9:00 pm.

Best known for his role as Rajesh Koothrappali in The Big Bang Theory, Kunal Nayyar’s career has spanned television, features & stage. He’s performed voice work in the DreamWorks animated feature Trolls & Fox’s Ice Age: Continental Drift, as well as Nickelodeon series Sanjay And Craig. His television credits also include a recurring role on TBS’ Sullivan & Sons, and a 2015 stint as guest host on CBS’ “The Late Late Show”. In 2015, he made his off – Broadway & London West End debut starring alongside Jesse Eisenberg in The Spoils, and he also produced docu feature Beyond All Boundaries, which won an IFFLA Grand Jury Prize in 2013.

IFFLA has also added to its 2018 line – up the world premiere of rising star director Karthik Subbaraj’s new feature Mercury. The film features South Indian superstar Prabhu Deva, and focuses on 5 long – time friends, all of whom are maimed as a result of their town’s mercury poisoning, who come together for their high school reunion. But a moment of mischief & misfortune during the after – party puts them on a one – way road to hell. Mercury will screen on Thurs 12th Apr, 2018 @ 9:15 pm with director Karthik Subbaraj in attendance.

An impressive panel of jurors will preside over IFFLA’s features & shorts competitions.

The features jury includes: director Haifaa Al -Mansour, whose multiple award winning debut feature Wadjda was the 1st ever film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia; film critic Carlos Aguilar, whose work appears in Indiewire, MovieMaker Magazine, Filmmaker Magazine, Variety Latino & Remezcla; and actress Sujata Day, known for her starring role on Issa Rae’s The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, and her recurring role as Sarah on HBO’s Insecure.

The shorts jury will include: Internationally renowned religious scholar & writer Reza Aslan, whose books include the #1 New York Times best – seller Zealot: The Life And Times of Jesus of Nazareth, and who has served as producer on HBO’s The Leftovers, ABC’s Of Kings and Prophets, and hosted CNN’s original series Believer; director Aneesh Chaganty, whose debut feature Searching was acquired by Sony Pictures for worldwide release in 2018 after its world premiere in Sundance, where it was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film prize & Next Audience Award & Guinevere Turner, screenwriter of American Psycho, The Notorious Bettie Page & Mary Harron’s forthcoming Charlie Says. Turner also wrote, produced & starred in 1994’s landmark queer film Go Fish.

IFFLA previously announced its full line – up which includes opening night gala film In The Shadows, with Bollywood star Manoj Bajpayee in attendance, closing night gala & international festival favorite Village Rockstars, directed by Rima Das, Hansal Mehta’s Omerta with Hansal Mehta in person, Naseeruddin Shah starrer The Hungry, and a memorial tribute screening of the late icon Sridevi’s 1989 hit movie Chandni.

Tickets & Passes are now on sale. Tickets to regular screenings, Master Class, Sridevi Tribute: $15
Gala screenings only: $25. Gala screenings & receptions: $75. Fest Pass: $100. All – Access Pass: $225.

For more information please: visit www.indianfilmfestival. org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter (@iffla).

Now in its 16th year, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is a non – profit organization devoted to a greater appreciation of Indian cinema & culture by showcasing films & promoting the diverse perspectives of Indian diaspora.
The 5 day festival is premier platform for the latest in cutting – edge global Indian cinema & bridges the gap between 2 largest entertainment industries in the world namely Hollywood & India. The festival will showcase more than 25 films from Indian filmmaking community across the globe, host the highly anticipated Opening & Closing red carpet Galas, and the Closing Awards ceremony

Man arrested for sexually harassing Vistara hostess

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Police providing details about the incident said that the passenger while de-boarding the aircraft at T3 terminal in New Delhi on March 24 had ‘inappropriately’ touched the crew member.

A 62-year-old businessman hailing from Pune was arrested at Delhi airport after a complaint of sexual harassment was lodged against him by a cabin crew member of the Air Vistara, Lucknow-Delhi flight, police said on Wednesday. The complaint was lodged on March 24 and the accused who has been identified as Rajeev Vasant Dani was arrested at the airport by the Delhi Police on the same day.
A spokesperson of Air Vistara said, “A member of our cabin crew operating Flight No. UK997 from Lucknow to Delhi on 24 March 2018, reported an incident of sexual harassment by a passenger. Vistara does not tolerate abusive or unruly behaviour by passengers that puts the safety of its staff and other customers at risk, or compromises their dignity. We have reported the matter to the Police and other relevant authorities. An FIR is registered and an investigation is on. We are fully committed to providing our cooperation to all the authorities.”
Providing details about the incident, police said the passenger while de-boarding the aircraft at T3 terminal in New Delhi on March 24 had ‘inappropriately’ touched the crew member.
A statement released by the police states, “A case vide FIR under section 354A of IPC (sexual harassment, punishable with a maximum term of three years and a fine) has been registered.”

Siddaramaiah creates history: First Karnataka CM in 40 years to complete term

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Chief minister Siddaramaiah is all set to become the first Karnataka chief minister in 40 years of state politics to complete his full term in office.

Siddaramaiah who hails from Mysuru assumed charge as the chief minister in May 2013. Karnataka Assembly polls will be held on May 12, before Siddaramaiah-led government completes its full five-year term on May 28 as announced by the Election Commission.

After D Devraj Urs who ruled as chief minister between 1972-77, no other CM was able to complete a full five-year term. However, Urs during his next term had to resign after which he was succeeded by R Gundu Rao in the year 1980.

Though S M Krishna had provided a stable government between 1999 and 2004, he did not complete the full term as he decided to go to polls five months in advance.

Since 1978, Karnataka has seen 19 governments and had President’s rule imposed four times.

However, Siddaramaiah has proved to be a seasoned politician. Though he was known to be a ‘new convert to the Congress’ with a section of party loyalists becoming upset on his elevation, he ensured that they don’t gang up against him. He has wriggled out of difficult situations and carefully got rid of his adversaries or kept them in good terms.

His adversaries such as former ministers V Srinivas Prasad and A H Vishwanath quit the Congress, while party veterans such as B Janardhan Poojary and C K Jaffer Sharief who used to openly criticise his style of functioning were pacified. He managed to keep Dalit leader and Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikharjun Kharge in good terms by inducting his son Priyank Kharge into the Cabinet.

According to political analyst Harish Ramaswamy, Siddaramaiah had many challenges and despite that he managed to give good governance as well as keep it stable. Siddaramaiah has intelligently taken advantage of the lack of clarity in the Congress high command and emerged as a strong leader, he added.

Even in the Congress circles, leaders admit that Siddaramaiah was initially considered as a ‘liability’ for the party but has now turned a ‘saviour’.

Siddaramiah who was earlier in Janata Dal (Secular) was dismissed as deputy chief minister by the former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda in mid-2005. He joined the Congress, which came as a shock to many. He won a very difficult by-election from Chamundeshwari in Mysuru and within three years was the leader of the opposition in the state Assembly in 2009.

He was selected to be the Karnataka CM in 2013, over party stalwart M Mallikarjuna Kharge in 2013. His rise in the party even though being an ‘outsider’ has not only raised eyebrows but also proves he is an astute politician.

Siddaramaiah in his first three years of governance earned the title of a ‘chief minister of bhagyas’ (gifts or rewards), as he launched a series of populist schemes. His populist schemes have been a major game-changer, and as revealed by data collected by C fore, schemes like Anna Bhagya and Ksheera Bhagya are some of the reasons why Congress is likely to regain power in the state. Indira Canteen, aimed at making Karnataka hunger-free, is another initiative that has won the hearts of the masses.

After the sudden death of his 38-year-old son Rakesh in Belgium in July 2016, many expected the CM to retire after the personal tragedy.

But, he proved people wrong. Once inaccessible to the media, Siddarmaiah suddenly became media savvy in the past two years. Opening accounts in Twitter and Facebook, he used social media to connect to people. Today, he has emerged as the most active chief minister on social media.

With bold decisions such as demanding primacy of Kannada and also separate religion tag for Lingayats, he has put BJP in a tough spot.

A tall leader among the masses, Siddaramaiah is seen as among the very few challengers in the Congress to BJP’s campaign of ‘Congress-mukt’ India. In south India, he is the lone Congress face standing guard against BJP’s efforts to make inroads into the southern belt.

Siddaramaiah is aware that the upcoming single-phase election which will be held on May 12 will be one of the toughest. However, in spite he wins or loses, he has already created history.

Mamata in Delhi : West Bengal CM meets Arun Shourie, Shatrughan Sinha and Yashwant Sinha

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Mamata Banerjee in Delhi LIVE Updates: The West Bengal chief minister has also expressed her willingness to have a tete-a-tete with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati if the leaders invite her for a meeting to Lucknow.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is camping in Delhi and trying to mobilise like-minded parties to form an anti-BJP federal front, has a host of meetings lined up for Wednesday. On a three-day trip to the national capital, the TMC supremo met BJP’s Shatrughan Sinha and Yashwant Sinha and former Union minister Arun Shourie. All the three leaders have been vocal critics of the NDA regime. The all-important meeting with her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to take place at 6 pm. “Banerjee is interested in having a conversation with Arvind (Kejriwal) about a number of issues, including his participation in a possible federal front… She is also interested in asking about his politics of apology and also the recent HC judgment on the EC disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs,” a source told Indian Express.
Banerjee, who met NCP chief Sharad Pawar, SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav and DMK’s Kanimozhi among others on Tuesday, has also expressed her willingness to have a tete-a-tete with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati if the leaders invite her for a meeting to Lucknow. Not one to hold back in attacking the saffron party, Banerjee on Tuesday said, “There’s no party in the country that’s more communal than the BJP.” She also castigated the ruling party over other issues like not taking up the no-confidence motion and on the Karnataka poll date leak fiasco.

Cambridge Analytica scam: Whistleblower says group worked with Indian politicians

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Christopher Wylie, who blew the lid off the Facebook user personal data being illegally used for political purposes, on Wednesday said his former employer Cambridge Analytica had an Indian arm and conducted election research on behalf of some parties including the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), now a BJP ally, for “desired outcome”.

Wylie said SCL Group, the parent organisation of Cambridge Analytica, has its office headquartered in Indirapuram in Ghaziabad and its regional offices in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cuttack, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Patna and Pune.

“I’ve been getting a lot of requests from Indian journalists. So here are some of SCL’s past projects in India. To the most frequently asked question – yes, SCL/CA works in India and has offices there. This is what modern colonialism looks like,” Wylie tweeted.

He posted two pictures of what looks like slides of a pitch presentation of SCL India explaining its national experience in the country.

It said the company has a database of over 600 districts and seven lakh villages. But it didn’t identify the source of the database or whether it was collected from any social media sites.

“Our micro-level information includes household level demographics, specifically focussing on caste data, linked to online mapping applications.”

The SCL India, according to the tweeted document, helped clients to identify and target key groups within the population “to effectively influence their behaviour to realize a desired outcome”.

It explained that SCL provided its clients the research to develop and “disseminate the right messages from the right sources using the right communication channels”.

It said in 2011, SCL India undertook a state-wide research campaign to identify voter caste by household.

“This booth level polling data formed the basis of further research into swing voter motivation and supporter mobilization strategies which were presented to individual candidates and tailored to their constituencies.”

During the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, SCL India managed the campaign of a number of Lok Sabha candidates.

“The research and campaign teams employed SCL India’s proprietary data collection methodologies to form strategies that gave the clients successful election campaigns.”

In the 2010 Bihar electons, SCL India was asked to provide electoral research and strategy for the JD-U of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

“SCL undertook a behavioural research programme targeting over 75 per cent of households to assist the client in not only identifying the correct battlegrounds but also the right audiences, messages and, most importantly, the right castes to target with their campaigns.”

In the 2007 Uttar Pradesh polls, SCL India carried out a full political survey on behalf of a “major party” which the document didn’t name.

“The research included a party audit and a state-wide census of politically active individuals using in-depth interviews to assess the satisfaction levels of party workers at booth level.”

It said SCL India also carried out a psephological study and opinion polling for a “national party to identify swing voters”.

“This was followed by more in-depth analysis of the behavioural dynamics at work in key seats which in turn informed the party’s efforts to ensure a local structure and communication strategy that matched the caste make-up and attitudinal positions of the pre-identified swing population.”

The SCL India carried out research for a “major state party” in Rajasthan in 2003. Its other projects included psephological studies and behavioural polling in Delhi and Chhattisgarh.

The document also said the company undertook research communication campaign to support a trans-national programme four countering the non-desired behaviour of recruitment into and support of “violent jihadism”.

The project was conducted in Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh in 2007. However, it didn’t say for whom the project was conducted.

Wylie, 28, was the Director of Research at Cambridge Analytica. He accused the data analytics firm having influenced the result of the United Kingdom’s 2016 Brexit referendum and of the 2016 American presidential election that brought Donald Trump to the White House.

Speaking to the British MPs on Tuesday, Wylie said Cambridge Analytica worked extensively in India and that he believed the Congress was its one of the clients.

Palestinian forces arrest dozens of Hamas supporters in West Bank

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At least 55 Hamas supporters arrested in aftermath of explosion that targeted PM convoy in Gaza Strip.

Dozens of Hamas supporters and activists have been detained in the West Bank over the past two weeks following an attack on the Palestinian Authority prime minister’s convoy in Gaza on March 13.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Hamas for being behind the attack on Rami Hamdallah’s motorcade, calling it an “assassination attempt”.

Hamas denied the allegations and said it was launching an investigation to uncover who was behind the blast.

Almost two weeks after the attack, two suspects were killed in an operation carried out by Hamas security forces. They were identified as Anas Abu Khousa and Abdul Hadi al-Ashab, unaffiliated with any Palestinian political faction.

The attack and the subsequent recriminations marked a serious deterioration in relations between Hamas and the PA.

So far, at least 55 Palestinians have been arrested as part of crackdown by the Palestinian Authority on Hamas supporters.

‘Arrests must stop’
Hasan Khreisheh, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council in the West Bank, told Al Jazeera that the arrest campaign by PA security forces is “incomprehensible and unjustified”.

“These arrests must be stopped in favour for a Palestinian united front to take a stance against the bigger issues at hand, such as US President Donald Trump’s decision to move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem,” Khreisheh said.

“If the PA is serious about confronting these real issues, then they should stop the arrests,” he continued. “In light of what the Palestinian cause is going through, political detention deepens unreasonable disputes.”

The MP said the PA leadership and other factions must intervene to stop the political arrests.

Strained relations
Fatah, the ruling party within the PA, and Hamas signed a reconciliation agreement in October 2017, ending a decade of division that saw two parallel governments operating in Gaza and the West Bank, respectively.

But the deal was never fully implemented due to differences within the two political factions, which are the largest in Palestinian politics.

Analysts said the attack on Hamdallah’s convoy was intended to put a strain on reconciliation efforts.

Abdelsattar Qassam, a Palestinian analyst and professor of political science at the an-Najah University in Nablus, accused the PA of practicing tyranny.

“Political arrests in the West Bank represents an assault on people’s freedom of expression and in the formation of public opinion,” he told Al Jazeera.

Qassem pointed out that the Palestinian reconciliation cannot take place under the Oslo agreement, which he considers the source of civil infighting and rivalry among the Palestinians.

“The reconciliation is a theatre play whose objective is to entertain and waste time,” he said.

“As Palestinians, the solution right now is to hold elections, as it is the only option capable of bringing in a new leadership that will deal with the Palestinian people in a new way.”

AL JAZEERA

Smith, Warner get 12-month bans: Aussie media

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Australian cricketers Steve Smith and David Warner were suspended by Cricket Australia (CA) on Wednesday for 12 months each and Cameron Bancroft for nine months over a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, the media reported.

CA Chief Executive James Sutherland met the players at their hotel in Johannesburg’s Sandton district to tell them their fate before they flew back to Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Smith broke the news to his teammates soon after he was handed his penalty. He has been stripped of the Australian captaincy, which is being taken over by Tim Paine on a full-time basis.

Rahul Gandhi takes dig at BJP over media sting, says can’t hate those who hate him

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After a Cobrapost expose revealed that many media outlets were willing to run content showing opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi in a negative light in exchange for money, the Congress chief, in an apparent dig at the BJP, on Wednesday said he could never hate those who hated him. Gandhi said for people peddling fake news was just business, asserting that hate is sold for a price. The Congress chief’s remarks come at a time when the Congress and BJP are engaged in a war of words over allegations that their respective apps were compromising personal user data to a third party without the users’ consent.

“I can never hate those who try to stir up hate against me, with fake stories and their cunning twisting of fact. For them it’s just business; hate sold for a price, as the Cobrapost expose shows,” Gandhi tweeted, tagging an Indian Express report with the headline “Sting: 17 media firms ready to push communal reports for cash”.

The Congress chief further said he was honoured in knowing the fact that some people made their livelihoods spinning lies about him. “I’m blessed and honoured that they make their livelihoods spinning lies about me,” he said. On Monday, Cobrapost released a series of sting operations and claimed that senior employees of 17 media outlets in the country had agreed to push polarising stories for money when they were approached by an undercover journalist.

The video of the sting operations purportedly showed that representatives of many of these media companies were willing to accept cash, and not raise a bill for that amount. Some of the major media outlets named in the sting operation include DNA, Dainik Jagran, Amar Ujala, India TV and ScoopWhoop. Journalist Pushp Sharma posed as Acharya Atal, who introduced himself in some of the meetings as belonging to an Ashram in Ujjain and in others as representing some Shrimad Bhagvad Gita Prachar Samiti.

In the videos of the sting operation, employees of the 17 media companies seem to agree to push a pitch “Acharya Atal’s soft Hindutva” agenda, and closer to the upcoming general elections, many of them are seen willing to run content that would have shown Opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati in a negative light. Most of the media representatives the undercover journalist met were either owners of regional news outlets or worked as senior executives on the business-side of the media companies.

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